Amitabh Bachchan was in Dubai on Thursday afternoon to promote his new film Shamitabh. Accompanied by the Tamil star Dhanush and debutante Akshara Haasan, the daughter of veteran actor Kamal Haasan, the 72-year-old superstar looked dapper in a crisp white shirt and grey suit with a scarf about his neck.
Talking about the film, which tells the story of a wannabe star who becomes famous by imitating Bachchan’s legendary voice, Bachchan said he was impressed by Dhanush’s dedication to his craft and the way he managed to take on his voice without losing sight of the character.
“We dubbed three times for this film, whose plot is the first of its kind in Hindi cinema,” explained Bachchan. “It was important to match facial expressions to dialogue.”
Dhanush, for whom this is the second Hindi film, laughed when asked about his progress with learning Hindi.
“It’s much better than it used to be,” he said, referring to Ranjhanaa, his debut Hindi film. “I used to have to memorise all the dialogues!” Haasan, casual in skinny jeans and black shirt, said it was a privilege to share screen space with Bachchan and Dhanush.
ciyer@thenational.ae
